Halloween Postcards From The Past

        I have a few Antique Halloween postcards that I will clean for folks to craft with under this post; check back to see updates as I scan, clean and repair them before the spooky season arrives. Please link back to my collection if you use them on the web for articles or sample crafts only folks!

''Halloween  Greetings'' postcard. The gentleman dressed in a tuxedo and his date, dressed in a
yellow gown, are going out on the town for Halloween festivities. The lady wears a mask and
carries a black feather fan and traditional black hat too. Behind the couple is a very
large pumpkin.

This postcard is a very old illustration of a little 
girl wearing a Jack-O-Lantern larger than her
head! The pumpkin decorated with a blue
bonnet and red feather.

  

''What the boys did to the cow.'' text and cow with two Jack-O-Lanterns on it's horns. A farmer's
wife looks on stunned. She drops her milking stool and tin bucket. She is wearing a white 
bonnet, apron, and country print dress. There is a cow pen, farmhouse and tree in illustration.

''Hallowe'en Greetings'' a court jester wears a wizard's cap. A black cat, black bat and 
black witch on her broom stick all run from a skeleton ringing a bell...

  

''Happy Halloween'' text, two scarecrows romance each other
under the man in the moon and the evening stars, while cat
looks on.

A little girl afraid of her own shadow.

A boy carves a Jack-O-Lantern in the haystacks.

The Tomato

Color tomatoes for a garden card.

 

Tomato
In old Peru at first I grew,
Wrinkled and small when I was new.
Explorers carried me to Spain,
But thence I've traveled far again.
The nineteenth century smoothed my
skin,
I'm neat and red outside and in.

• More Tomato Clip Art and Verse
• Read about veggies from the Nightshade Family
• Trading card of the hybrid tomato
• Pomedoro Grosso tomato seeds
• Fruits, vegetables & seeds - landing page at All Victorian Ephemera Blog

The Blackberry

Blackberries on the vine.

 

Blackberry
I love the mountains, wild and free,
Their Northern slope's the home for
me!
I do not like a Southern sun,
Since eighteen hundred forty-one
America has loved me best,
Prince of berries, once a pest.

• Vintage lithograph illustration of garden variety, hybrid berries
• Victorian scrap cluster of mixed fruits/berries
• Blackberry rhyme and mini-book page

The Date

Date
I grew in Asia, ages past;
Africa's deserts brown and vast
Were made less cruel by my shade;
Oil, drink and wood from me are made.
The ancient Jews in chanting psalms
Carried my green, symbolic palms. 

Dates growing on a tree.
See ''Color Bunches of Dates'' and
''The Bible Botanical'' listing and
landing page

The Pea

peas in their pods

 Pea

When Asia's ancient splendor bloomed

I flourished there, -my seeds entombed

Were found in Egypt, so my age

Is written clear on history's page.

Yet older still than this am I,--

I grew before Swiss lakes went dry.

• Green pea verse, links, postcards and bookmarks!
• Learn about The Legume Family
• Craft a pea pod from cotton batting
• Black and white illustrated peas in pods on a plate

The Turnip

illustrated turnips

Turnip
In Eastern Europe, Asia too,
There in ages past I grew,
Many people love me well,
My virtues every day they tell.
But Sweden added to my fame,
There "rutabaga" I became.

• The White Turnip verse and mini-book page
• ''Rapunzel'' fairy tale about the unfortunate events that follow after a woman infatuated with rutabagas...
• Learn more about The Mustard Family
• pen and ink illustration of turnips
• Color these garden veggies for kids . . .

The Squash

Simple drawing of patty pan squash.

 

Squash

The sunny South for me is fine,

In which to spread my pretty vine.

I do not like the North, and so

In Spain and Italy I grow.

Where winds blow cold across the sky,

I'm never found, for there I'd die.

• Vintage yellow summer squash seeds pack...
• Paint a bur acorn to look like a blue Hubbard squash!
• Read another verse about Summer Squash and Marrow
• Learn about gourds and pumpkins and their uses
• Read more about The Melon or Cucumber Family here

Grapes

Simple drawing of grapes.

Grapes
Children of Israel loved my vine,
They trampled me to blood-red wine,-
For use in sacrifice and rite
To praise their Lord,- since first the
light
Fell on my leaves in Noah's day
As King of fruits, I've held my sway.

• Make jams and jellies for a child's pretend kitchen, grape included of course!
• Vintage illustration of White Grape Cluster
• ''I AM The Vine'' coloring page with grape border 
• Grapes for Communion Themes
• Grape patterns or Chrismon trees
• Color the Fruits We Eat

The Potato

 Potato
Peru, the Andes' sunny plain,
Was first my home, then into Spain.
I traveled with Pizarro's men
From the New World and back again.
When famine fell on Ireland's shore,
My worth was proved forevermore.

Potatoes in a basket text"Potatoes selected for seed"

More potato rhyme and stories . . . 

The Onion

Simple drawing of onions.

 

Onion
I am older than Egypt's ancient
kings--
I was born where the ibis
spreads its wings.
But soon I wandered wide and
far,
From Northern fjords to Zanizi-
bar.
And now you'll find me every-
where,
On every nation's bill of fare.

• Read more about Spanish onions here, mini-book page
• Learn more about The Allium Family
• The Radish and Green Onion verse
• Vintage seed packet illustration for the onion

Potted Plant Pop-Up Cards

        This way to grow and display paper flowers for your window sill, mantle or bedroom dresser is designed by Margaret Sanders. A novel card for children to craft and give to their mother on Mother's Day or maybe even on her birthday.

How to cut and fold three potted plants for Mother's Day Card: daisy, tulip and geranium.

Almond

The Almond - Hope

The hope, in dreams of a happier hour,

That alights upon misery's brow,

Spring out of the silvery Almond flower,

That blooms on a leafless bough.

Moore